mikereflects.com
Preface
This book review of Matthew’s Gospel is one of a series I have undertaken primarily for my own benefit. What I have written is not a scholarly study and would not constitute a formal commentary, but may be classified as a book review. In writing this review I have encouraged myself in the Christian faith and in making this available to anyone who cares to read it, I hope the reader may also be encouraged.
In each series of New Testament book reviews, I have included a brief summary of the Biblical text to help readers but this should not obviate reading the full biblical text. I had separated thoughts not directly relating to the text and headed these sections ‘food for thought.’ I then add a ‘challenge’ relating to each section.
This Review of Matthew’s Gospel is in three parts, viz.:
Part 1 ~ Jesus’ Initial Impact (Matt.ch1 - ch.8 v.17)
Part 2 ~ Challenge of Discipleship (Matt.ch8 v.18 - ch.20)
Part 3 ~ Cost of Discipleship (Matt.ch21 - ch.28)
The scripture quotations are generally taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004 and used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
The section divisions and text extracts are from NLT, second edition (unless otherwise denoted) and occasionally I have added minor clarifications in brackets to suit context. Scripture quotes in italics are my own paraphrases. The word Spirit with a capital ‘S’ denotes the ‘Spirit of God’ or the person of God that the Bible may otherwise describe as ‘God the Holy Spirit’. mikereflects, 2013
Part 1 Index
Introduction – Authorship and Purpose of Matthew’s Gospel
Jesus’ Initial Impact
Matt. ch.1 v.1-17 ~ The Ancestors of Jesus the Messiah
Matt. ch.1 v.18-25 ~ The Birth of Jesus the Messiah
Matt. ch2 v.1-12 ~ Visitors from the East
Matt. ch2 v.13-23 ~ The Escape to Egypt & Return to Nazareth
Matt. ch3 v. 1- 17 ~ John the Baptist Ministry and Jesus’ Baptism
Matt. ch.4 v. 1 to 12 ~ The Temptation of Jesus
Matt. ch.4 v.12 to 25 ~ Jesus Begins his Ministry & Calls his Disciples
Matt. ch.5 v.1-16 ~ Sermon on the Mount – the Beatitudes, etc
Matt. ch.5 v.17 to 26 ~ Teaching about the O.T. Law & Extending it
Matt. ch.5 v.27 to 37 ~ Teaching about Marriage and Promises
Matt. ch.5 v.38 to 48 ~ Teaching about Revenge and Loving Enemies
Matt. ch.6 v.1 to 18 ~ Giving, Praying and Fasting without Hypocrisy
Matt. ch.6 v.19 to 34 ~ Teaching about Money and Possessions
Matt. ch.7 v.1 to 29 ~ Further Teaching for Jesus’ Followers
Matt. ch.8 v.1 to 17 ~ Healing by Touch and Healing Remotely
Introduction – Authorship and Purpose of Matthew’s Gospel
Authorship
The authorship of Matthew’s Gospel is unknown, but traditionally authorship was credited to Matthew the tax collector because it uniquely contains the account of St. Matthew’s calling by Jesus to be one of his twelve disciples. It may be that some of the Gospel teaching is derived through tradition from the lips of Matthew the tax collector, but the fact that significant chunks are copied form Mark’s Gospel, points to Matthew’s Gospel as we have it being the work of one or more author/editors. The highlights of the Gospel are ‘The Sermon on the Mount’ (summarising Jesus’ teaching) and the ‘Great Commission’ (empowering the church to spread the gospel).
The identity of some of the Biblical authors is more obvious than for others, for example the ‘Letter to the Romans’ commences with the salutation, ‘This letter is from Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, etc.’ And what we know of Paul’s life from the Acts of the Apostles gives added credibility to the personal letter we find in Romans. The authorship of the Biblical books including the Gospels was of concern to the second century ‘church fathers’ and then later to those major church councils which met to work out which books should be placed in the canon of New Testament scripture (i.e. to decide which books were sufficiently authentic at that time to be put in the Bible).
It seems that the Gospel authors or their final editors were not minded to lay claim to authorship, either because this detail was not important to people (which is unlikely) or because the accounts we have received were heavily edited (which is possible) or because the author was writing down what had been received by either verbal tradition or from one or more eyewitnesses or a mixture of both (which is likely).
We also need to note that although it is apparent from non-Biblical texts that some first century writers were not averse to completely re-writing the texts of sources they quoted, there was also a strong reliance on eye-witness testimony where this could be obtained. Bauckham demonstrates in his book Jesus and the Eyewitnesses (Wm. B. Eerdamns, 2006) that in first century times it was important to Greek and Roman history writers to obtain eyewitness reports when writing credible historical accounts. This is witnessed to in Luke’s Gospel where Luke comments that he was careful to check that his account was derived from eyewitnesses where he could.
Luke was a travelling companion of Paul and another companion of Paul was Mark who also wrote a Gospel based on St. Peter’s eyewitness account of Jesus life. We can be reasonably sure of this from early Christian tradition (drawn from Papias who lived 60-135AD) that quotes John the Elder, "And the Elder said this also: ‘Mark, having become an interpreter of Peter, wrote down accurately everything that he remembered’” However we don’t find reference to sources in Matthew’s Gospel, nor does it read as a direct eye witness account. But both Matthew’s Gospel and Luke’s clearly each draw some of their content from Mark’s Gospel, and since Luke uses Mark’s account it is clear he believed its eyewitness authenticity. And so it is reasonable to accept that the editor/ author of Matthew’s Gospel also accepted Mark as based on an authentic eyewitness account.
Scholarship indicates that Matthew’s Gospel is a compilation of historic narrative from early sources such as Mark’s Gospel and authentic early church teaching and tradition passed down within the church community and drawn from the teaching of the Apostles and their immediate disciples. Archaeological evidence points to Matthew’s Gospel being penned at the latest by CE65, (i.e., within 30 years of Jesus death & resurrection), so the sources were very close to the lives of the Jesus’ Apostles including Matthew the tax collector. A recent article about New Testament manuscripts refers to a papyrus fragment from the Dead Sea Scrolls as contemporary to the compiler of Matthew’s Gospel:
‘The most significant find, however, is a manuscript fragment from the book of Matthew (chapt.26) called the Magdalene Manuscript which has been analysed by Dr. Carsten Thiede, and also written up in his book ‘The Jesus Papyrus’. Using a sophisticated analysis of the handwriting of the fragment by employing a special state-of-the-art microscope, he differentiated between 20 separate micrometer layers of the papyrus, measuring the height and depth of the ink as well as the angle of the stylus used by the scribe. After this analysis Thiede was able to compare it with other papyri from that period; notably manuscripts found at Qumran (dated to 58 AD), another at Herculaneum (dated prior to 79 AD), a further one from the fortress of Masada (dated to between 73/74 AD), and finally a papyrus from the Egyptian town of Oxyrynchus. The Magdalene Manuscript fragments matches all four, and in fact is almost a twin to the papyrus found in Oxyrynchus, which bears the date of 65/66 AD Thiede concludes that these papyrus fragments of St. Matthew's Gospel were written no later than this date and probably earlier. That suggests that we either have a portion of the original gospel of Matthew, or an immediate copy which was written while Matthew and the other disciples and eyewitnesses to the events were still alive. This would be the oldest manuscript portion of our Bible in existence today, one which co-exists with the original writers! (Christian-Muslim debate website accessed Sept 11).’
Purpose
The Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke) portray Jesus as God’s promised Messiah (Christ in the Greek language) who calls us to repentance, forgives our sins and will come again in his Father’s glory. The style of Matthew’s Gospel emphasises the kingly and priestly qualities of Jesus the promised Messiah in fulfilment of Jewish OT prophecy which aligns to its purpose of reaching a mainly Jewish audience. John’s Gospel penned some 30 years later has a quite different emphasis developing the concept of Messiah further to Jesus being the incarnated Word of God who is ‘God our Saviour’ in person.
The purpose of all four Gospels was to encourage those who had responded to the Christian gospel to continue and to be strengthened in their faith. Each Gospel gives a different approach and so with all four in the cannon of the New Testament we have a rich source from which to build the practical outworking of our faith in God and Christ Jesus. God’s Spirit has ensured that these resources are available including for the clear differences in the records as different aspects have been remembered, passed on verbally or drawn out of the stories told. God is a god of loving unity and we can be confident that differences that exist in Scriptural records are there for us to reflect on and with his help to find deeper meaning from the creative tensions that exist in the historical records we have.
Some of the narrative of Matthew where it is not based on Mark’s Gospel (for example Jesus resurrection) appears to contain elaborations based on church tradition rather than eyewitness accounts. Mark’s account as we have it has very little about Jesus’ resurrection and in its original, it ends abruptly. Since Mathew’s account only adds a little extra to the resurrection account, it may be that the abrupt ending of Mark’s account was all that the writer of Matthew had from that source. But the author’s concern was to finish Matthew’s Gospel with Jesus commission to the early church, ‘To go and make disciples of all the nations’. His Gospel account sought to demonstrate that Jesus had been given ‘all authority in heaven and on earth’ by God, and that since Jesus was now risen to be with God, the disciples and the Christian church could be confident that Jesus by his spirit would be ‘with them to the end of the age’.
Food for thought: Theologian Magi Dawn suggests (BRF New Daily Light, 8 Oct 2014) that Mark’s apparently abrupt ending at v.8 was deliberate. She writes, “Unusual endings are there to elicit a response. In this case, if you stop at verse 8, you read an account full of unresolved energy. The mysterious figure at the tomb tells the three women to go and tell and not to be afraid. What do they do? They are more terrified, run away and tell no one.... This ending takes the reader right back to the beginning of Mark’s Gospel to revisit the places where Jesus says secretively, ‘Don’t tell anyone who I am!’ ... The truth of the resurrection only comes into focus when we re-read the story and begin to realise, as Mark tells it, that it is not really about the disciples but about us!” Magi ends with a prayer thanking God for the different New Testament styles and for help that we would be imaginative readers of that text.
Challenge: What is your response to the Jesus of the Gospels? Will you lovingly thank God for the living person who emerges from the records we are given?
Matt. Ch.1 v.1-17 ~ The Ancestors of Jesus the Messiah
1v1This is a record of the ancestors of Jesus the Messiah, a descendant of David and of Abraham: ....16Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary. Mary gave birth to Jesus, who is called the Messiah. 17All those listed above include fourteen generations from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the Babylonian exile, and fourteen from the Babylonian exile to the Messiah.
Ancestry was important to the Jews. The problem was that they weren’t as good at it as one might expect! Also it was completely male dominated: they weren’t in the slightest interested in the female lines. A cursory comparison between the Matthew list and the Luke list (Lk3 v.23-33) shows a major discrepancy since each list traces a quite different male line from David through to Joseph. Luke (a Greek Christian doctor/ author) has the line passing through King David’s son, Nathan, and Matthew has it passing through Solomon who was the next king after David. This may well show us that Matthew’s Gospel was compiled by Jewish Christians who were keen to identify Jesus as the Jewish Messiah king.
Part of this Jewish art seems also to have been playing with numbers. Having equal numbers of descendants between king David, the Exile and Jesus the Messiah was significant to the author’s purpose which was to prove that Jesus is the Messiah. The timing of his coming may have a greater air of perfection about it when backed by such equal numbers. This may have impressed his Jewish audience, but it is quite irrelevant to the actual perfection of the timing of Christ’s coming. If you believe that Jesus is God’s Christ then you will appreciate that his coming must be in God’s perfect timing (de facto and without number games)! It seems that the author of Matthew’s Gospel makes what to us may seem like an unnecessary (and potentially counter-productive) human effort to make his point.
Even though we might not commence a book today with a list of ancestors, there are some positive observations we can draw from this record, such as the fact that the Messianic line includes non-Jewish mothers such as Ruth and Rahab who are both elsewhere commended for their faith in the god of Israel. And it is interesting to note that for the Jewish Christian author the fact of Jesus not being the biological son of Joseph (which the author is quite open about) seems to have made no difference to his presentation – what may have mattered more to the Jews was that Jesus was Joseph’s legal son: that the Messiah was legally descended from Abraham via the kingly line of David. This was important on several counts of prophesy. Since the Messiah was prophesied both to be a kingly ‘Son of David’ and a descendant of Abraham!
Food for thought: How often do Christians make quite unnecessary efforts to justify what they hold dear? For example you only have to look at the USA Christian scene where much Christian donated money is being spent on spurious efforts to prove scientifically that the Genesis account is literally true rather than metaphorical truth. And there are probably other examples one can think of. Is God honoured by all this? Not at all! But God remains abundantly gracious!
Challenge: Should we not let the Bible speak for itself, rather than seeking to defend it?
Matt. Ch.1 v.18-25 ~ The Birth of Jesus the Messiah
18This is how the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place...she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. 19Joseph...was a good man and did not want to disgrace her publically, so he decided to break the engagement quietly. 20As he considered this an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David”, the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit.”
It would seem that God deliberately upset the Jewish gender bias! And the Jewish Christian author’s aim of impressing (male) Jews with his claim that Jesus really was their Messiah had to struggle with the facts of Jesus’ birth. Jesus was ‘conceived of the Holy Spirit’ rather than being conceived by Joseph (Jesus’ legal father) so how could the author demonstrate that Jesus was biologically descended from Abram and David? He could not do so, except by tracing the line of Mary which he wasn’t prepared to do!
In fact by including the account of the angel telling Joseph that Mary’s illegitimate child was conceived of God’s Spirit, it would seem that the author was deliberately aiming to make a different point. Jesus was God’s son rather than merely a natural descendent of David.
Food for thought: Christians claim that Jesus is God’s spiritual son rather than God’s biological son. By this we mean that Jesus spirit is directly of God whereas his body is directly of Mary. We refute the Muslim claim that we teach that God had sexual relations with Mary and conceived a son. But what exactly does ‘the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit actually mean? It is a claim that God interfered directly with one of Mary’s unfertilized eggs in order for her to conceive her biological son who was not actually a natural son. If Jesus’ spiritual person was not directly of God, he would be totally of the line of Abraham (spiritually and biologically) through Mary at least.
However the New Testament speaks frequently of the true ‘sons of Abraham’ not necessarily being biological sons of Abraham. The Baptist tells the Jewish leaders (Matt. Ch.3 v.9) that God can make (true) descendants of Abraham from the very stones in the river! And both Jesus and Paul make similar claims elsewhere. They were saying that a true descendant is one who shares Abraham’s faith in God. But the Christian claim for Jesus is more than that.
Christians today probably vary in their understanding of this mystery. All may be orthodox Christians holding to the form of the Christian creeds, but conceiving of Jesus in quite distinct ways. It is not possible to fully understand the Christian creedal statements (they are not logical) which is why they are described as divine mystery!
Challenge: My advice is to regard the creeds as ‘revelation statements’ rather than as ‘philosophical statements’ and don’t get hung up on them! Just hold on to the truth you can comprehend by God’s grace! The important thing (as the author puts it in ch.1 v.23) is that in Jesus Christ, God is with us!
Matt. Ch2 v.1-12 ~ Visitors from the East
1Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod. About that time some wise men (Magi) from the eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking, 2”Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star in the East, and we have come to worship him.”
6’O Bethlehem in the land of Judah...a ruler will come from you who will be the shepherd of my people.’ ... 11They ... saw the child with his mother Mary and they bowed down and worshiped him.
Secular research has found that the Magi represented a movement in ancient Persia who studied the stars (they were both Astronomers and Astrologers). The origins of the signs of the Zodiac came from their computations and writings. Each sign represented an age of about 2150 years and the age of Pisces was due to commence about the time of the birth of Christ. The fact that various astronomical events coinciding with this expectation might lend truth of the visit of the wise men to Judea. One astrological event in 7 BC may have spurred a group of Magi to travel to Judea in search of the ‘new king of the Jews’ whom the Magi would have also seen as commencing the astrological age of ‘Pisces’.
The word star being used in its astrological connotation (a portent associated with a heavenly configuration, as in the phrase "his star is rising") could have been the aforementioned rare triple conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn in the constellation Pisces in the year 7 BC, which for the astrologers of the time would have signalled the birth of a new King of the Jews (an association that Herod would have been worried about). However there are a number of theories as to possible ‘star’ candidates between 7 and 2 BC.
Matthew is the only Gospel to mention this event and it would have been included to impress Jews. In the Babylonian system of astrology, Jupiter represented the supreme God of the universe, Saturn was the "Steady One," and the constellation of Pisces was associated with the god of wisdom, life, and creation, as well as being associated with the Jewish people. At the time this "star" would have been seen "in the East" (Babylonia/Persia, the centre of astrology at the time lay to the east of Israel/Judea) the Jews were looking for a leader to throw off the Roman occupation. One modern Assyriologist contends that the Babylonian astrological interpretation of the triple conjunction would have been "the end of the old world order and the birth of a new king chosen by God."
Support for this theory (amongst modern astrologers at least) is found in the fact that early Christians used the already established astrological symbol for the constellation Pisces (‘fish’ in Latin) which in Greek (Ictus) also spelt the first letters of the phrase ‘Jesus Anointed God’s Son & Saviour). Pisces was the constellation where the triple conjunction occurred, and may have influenced the early use of the symbol for Jesus and the new Christian religion. Astrology wasn’t distinguished from astronomy and science in the ancient world. And may not have been expunged from the early Christian psyche until Church Fathers (such as Tertullian) began denouncing the belief as demonic.
It is currently believed that Jesus was born about 4-6 BC which was before the established date of the death of Herod the Great (in 4 BC). If the 7 BC star event did spur some Magi to travel, they would have had some 12 months to prepare and reach Jerusalem to locate the new born king. Matthew’s Gospel also relates that the star came and stood over Bethlehem; if this part of the story has any credence it would have been a more modest heavenly portent (different to the conjunction that set the Magi on the road) in the form of a receding comet with its tail pointing earthwards and could have appeared to stand still for a few days and to the south, which could have led them to find the mother and child in the nearest village to the south of Jerusalem.
Food for thought: The text cites the wise men as bowing down and worshipping the child: this meant paying him homage as was befitting in ancient times to any king, especially one prophesied or having a star associated with him. In those times kings and rulers were regarded as god-like since they had the power of life or death over their subjects. Astrology also had a powerful effect on their lives. We still use the term ‘your worship’ when addressing mayors and other dignitaries. Jesus is quoted as forbidding his disciples to address anyone as ‘exalted father’ or use similar deference within a Christian context – we are to consider ourselves as sisters and brothers to Jesus himself with one Father in heaven. However this is not applicable outside the Christian context.
Scholars debate whether or not the Magi story is an early embellishment designed to impress the Jews, but either way its inclusion in Scripture should indicate that God is not averse to using anyone (even those with erroneous ideologies) to point to the world to Christ.
Challenge: Since God is not averse to using astrologers to point to Christ, perhaps we should not be afraid to reach anyone for Christ even those whose teachings we shun.
Matt Ch2 v.13-23 ~ The Escape to Egypt & Return to Nazareth
“13Get up! Flee to Egypt with the child and his mother,” the angel said. “Stay there until I tell you to return, because Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”
‘18A cry was heard in Ramah – weeping and great mourning Rachel weeps for her children, refusing to be comforted, for they are dead.’
21So Joseph got up and returned to the land of Israel with Jesus and his mother. 22But when he heard that the new ruler was Herod’s son, Archelaus, he was afraid to go there. Then...he left for the region of Galilee. 23So the family went and lived in a town called Nazareth.
The passage demonstrates that those who work closely with God’s Spirit are guided by God. Joseph and Mary were spiritual people who found themselves parents of the promised Messiah and they were prayerfully open to the angelic direction. Historical evidence suggests that the massacre of the innocents was the kind of deed Herod was capable of committing (he even killed his own sons irrationally suspecting they were plotting to replace him), even though no extra-Biblical material exists to confirm this event.
Quoted in verse 18, Jeremiah’s prophesy (Jer.31 v15-18) had nothing to do with the Messiah – it related to God restoring the descendents of Rachel from Babylon back to Israel. They were gone from the land (rather than dead) and God would restore them again. But clearly the author considered the first part of this quotation as paralleling the sorrow of the mothers of the innocents that Herod slew.
The author does not appear to have the same source material for Jesus’ childhood and background as Luke had. Luke clearly depicts both Joseph and Mary as being natives of Nazareth, but the way Matthew is written seems to indicate that the author was unaware of this detail. For if Joseph hailed from Nazareth, he would have been headed back there when he left Egypt, even though he had to pass through Israel to get there. However the author indicates that Joseph was afraid to settle in Judah because of Archelaus and so then decided to move to Galilee out of Archelaus jurisdiction in case he got wind that Jesus had escaped Herod’s massacre of innocents.
Food for thought: The massacre of the innocents parallels many tragic cases before and since where tyrants and ruthless men massacre the innocent be they men, women or children. God does not intervene to prevent this evil not because he is uncaring or powerless. True to God’s nature of love, creation is free to choose good or evil and this means that the all powerful creator will not intervene to prevent evil choices even though those choices harm the innocent. However God will guide those who seek his presence to either avoid the evil of others or to strengthen them to bear it and to bring good out of it.
The author of Matthew was keen to relate every detail of the life of Jesus back to the Scriptures, and in so doing there is the real danger that he could be read as inadvertently implying that God had foreordained the massacre of the innocents. Nothing can be further from the truth! If the massacre was intended (by God) to ‘fulfil’ Jeremiah’s prophesy, then indeed God would be villainous rather than good.
The fact that God allows tyrants to behave without apparent redress is not to be taken either as God not caring about our good, or as indicating that God is incapable to preventing evil, nor again in order to fulfil some pre-ordained divine plan. It may demonstrate that God loves the world so much that he allows us freewill even though this can result in us murdering each other, however there can be no simple answer to this issue. The passage shows us that God is involved in this world for good and if we pray we too can be spiritually involved for good, but we will be judged for our sins.
Challenge: Do you murder the innocents by painting a limited or false picture of them to others?
Matt. Ch3 v. 1- 17 ~ John the Baptist Ministry and Jesus’ Baptism
1In those days, John the Baptist came to the Judean wilderness and began preaching. His message was, “2Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.” 3The prophet Isaiah was speaking of John when he said, “He is a voice shouting in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way of the Lord’s coming...!’”
“8Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God...9 ... I tell you God can create children of Abraham from these very stones (from the river). 11...but someone is coming soon who is greater than I am ... He will baptise you with the Holy Spirit and fire!”
Then Jesus went from Galilee to the Jordan River to be baptised by John. 14But John tried to talk him out of it. “I am the one who needs to be baptised by you,” he said. .. 15But Jesus said, “It must be done, for we must fulfil all righteousness.” So John agreed to baptise him.
Use of the term ‘Kingdom of Heaven’ by Matthew related to the expected coming of the Jewish Messiah. Passages like Isaiah 40 seem to indicate that God was coming in power to rule the nations and passages like Isaiah 42 indicate God would do this by means of his servant the Messiah. The Gospel writer identifies the preaching of John the Baptist as the voice of God prophesied in Isa.40 v3-11, to prepare the way for Christ’s coming.
The author goes on to indicate the Baptist taught the Jews that they could not rely on their Jewish blood to gain access to God’s kingdom: and that God only recognised as his children those who repented of their sins and lived by God’s Spirit. John proclaimed that the coming Messiah would baptise the repentant with God’s Spirit and that he would bring God’s judgement on those who would not repent.
Jesus (who according to John needed no repentance) nevertheless asked John to baptise him. To John’s question of ‘Why,’ Jesus replies, ‘To fulfil all righteousness.’ By this he probably meant that he needed John’s baptism to inaugurate his ministry. Adult baptism today has various functions; viz.:-
- It is a ‘coming out’ for the believer in Christ; a sign of repentance towards God. Baptism marks her/him as a Christian to the world.
- It is a sacrament reminding the individual that she/he has died to the way of sinning and is now alive to walking in the way of God’s Spirit.
- It is a sign of the believer’s incorporation into God’s family –both local and worldwide.
- It is an inauguration into baptism with God’s Spirit; and it is a baptism by God’s Spirit into the fire of God’s love for the world
No less did John’s baptism of Jesus serve to signify for Jesus the following functions:
- It inaugurated the start of Jesus’ public ministry
- It was a sacrament reminding Jesus that God’s Spirit was with him to fulfil all God’s righteousness in his ministry.
- It was to be a sign for future believers – the inauguration of God’s family the glorious church redeemed by Christ’s blood.
- It spurred Jesus to sacrifice himself out of God’s great love for humanity.
Food for thought: If the local and worldwide church of Christian believers lived out the promise of Christian baptism today, perhaps the world would acknowledge the glory of God in the Christian church.
Challenge: How much do we value our baptism?
Matt. Ch.4 v. 1 to 12 ~ The Temptation of Jesus
1Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil. ... 3During this time the tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread.” 4But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” 5Then the devil took him to the holy city, Jerusalem, to the highest point of the temple, 6and said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off! For the Scriptures say, ‘He will order his angles to protect you. ...’” 7Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the Lord your God.’” 8Next the devil took him to the peak of a high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and all their glory. 9”I will give it all to you,” he said, “if you kneel down and worship me.” 10Get out of here, Satan,” Jesus told him. “For the Scriptures say, ‘You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’”
This passage reflects what Jesus recounted to his disciples about a season of temptation that he had faced immediately on setting out on the ministry path he felt God had called him to. It is clear from the passage that the Scriptures were central to Jesus’ thinking. His ministry would be guided by what the Spirit of God showed him of God the Father’s plan for his life and ministry from the Jewish Scriptures.
The passage demonstrates Christ’s humanity; he was fully human! To suggest that somehow the man Jesus of Nazareth was of himself fully God in all God’s glory while on earth does not match the New Testament Gospel accounts. The fact is he was fully human and as such was fully limited to that which humanity can be: he was not super-human! All that he thought, spoke and did that reflected the glory of God (and that was as fully as it is possible for a human to reflect) came by God’s Spirit working in and through him of the Father’s will, purpose and power. He walked with Father God by means of the loving Spirit of God within him.
Clearly Jesus had to confront his own doubts about his calling just as any human has to do when setting out to obey God’s Spirit. These doubts offered entries for temptations to Jesus just as they do for us in our situations. The doubts are not wrong they are merely human; the ability to be tempted is not sinful, it is human. What is sinful is to yield to the temptation which Jesus refused to do all the time reflecting on what God the Spirit showed him was the right or wrong choice for him. The foremost doubt for Jesus at this venture of his calling was, ‘Are you really the Son of God?’ I.e., ‘Are you really going to be ‘God visiting his people in person’; really going to be ‘God’s Servant the ‘Messiah’? Was he really going to be a Father to his nation, binding up the broken hearted, setting free those captivated by fear, enslaved by sin or ruined by sickness; was he going to fulfil in himself the Scriptural need for a Sacrifice to take away all human sin?
The temptation was to test God by taking short-cuts rather than to believe and trust God over this calling. Short cuts would lead to fast popularity and might swiftly propel him to power and almost certainly would have led to him avoiding the cross. But God’s Spirit showed him they were not the right way for him. To feed people rather than teach them God’s way, or to perform miracles merely to gain power and popularity or to satisfy himself with power, ease and glory, were not God’s way; they were the way of Evil.
Food for thought: It is easier for congregations of God’s people to be complacent and to get into a rut of thinking that they are pleasing Father God without moving themselves to face and meet the challenges of showing God’s glory to the society and world in which they live.
Challenge: Do I go the easy way or seek the Way of God’s Spirit?
Matthew Ch.4 v.12 to 25 ~ Jesus Begins his Ministry & Calls his Disciples
12...Jesus left Judea and returned to Galilee. ...14This fulfilled what God had said... “In Galilee where so many Gentiles live, 16the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light.” ...17From then on Jesus began to preach, “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of heaven is near.”
18One day as Jesus was walking along the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers – Simon, also called Peter and Andrew throwing a net into the water.. 18Jesus called out to them, “Come follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!” 20And they left their nets and followed him....
23Jesus travelled throughout the region of Galilee, teaching in the synagogues and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom. And he healed every kind of disease and illness. 24News about him spread as far as Syria, and people soon began bringing him all who were sick.
Matthew tells us that once John had been imprisoned Jesus began his ministry with the very same message that the Baptist had preached. In Galilee he continued to lead the revival that John had instigated in Judea and people flocked from all over. There was a new potency to the revival however – Jesus was demonstrating a powerful healing ministry with all kinds of sicknesses and physical and mental problems healed. And rather than staying in one place, Jesus took the message to the people.
Jesus called some close disciples from the fishing community to be with him just as John had called his disciples before him. And as he toured the region preaching the Gospel and healing the sick, his fame spread far and wide.
Food for thought: Jesus chose very ordinary working people to be his followers and then made them his evangelists, apostles and miracle workers.
Challenge: Are you willing to be a good worker always listening for God’s call to serve him either in small ways or large?
Matthew ch.5 v.1-16 ~ Sermon on the Mount – the Beatitudes, etc.
1 Jesus sat down and his disciples gathered around him. 2 He began to teach them.
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs in the kingdom of heaven (NIV). Blessed of God are the spiritually poor who recognise their need of him, for God’s Kingdom is meant for them. (My paraphrase)”
4 “Blessed are those who mourn for they will be comforted (NIV). Blessed of God are the broken hearted and those who weep for as they receive God’s Kingdom they are comforted.”
5 “Blessed are the meek for they will inherit the earth (NIV). Blessed of God are those who humbly live out their place in God’s Kingdom for they will inherit the blessings the earth was intended to provide.”
6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they will be filled (NIV). Blessed of God are those who continue to hunger and thirst for justice and a good relationship with God and all other people, for they will be fully satisfied as what they seek is fulfilled.
7 “Blessed are the merciful for they will be shown mercy (NIV). Blessed of God are those who by identifying themselves with others show them forgiveness, for they will themselves be shown mercy.
8 “Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God (NIV). Blessed are those who having experienced God’s forgiveness of their sin are single-mindedly living for God, for they will see God.
9 “Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called the sons of God (NIV). Blessed of God are those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God.
10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven (NIV). Blessed of God are those who are persecuted for doing right, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.
11 “Blessed are you when people mock you and persecute you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers.
12 “Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven.”
“13 You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavour?”...
“14 You are the light of the world – like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden; 15 or a lamp that is placed on a stand where it gives light to everyone...
16 In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will give praise to your heavenly Father.” (My paraphrase italic)
In the context Jesus was teaching his disciples at this juncture rather than the crowds who were gathering. According to Dr Barclay the Greek phrases Matthew chooses to set the scene, tell us that what follows is a summary of the ‘essence’ of Jesus teaching. And it is reasonable to suppose that Jesus teaching here relates to those who are committed to following him i.e. in the context of God’s Kingdom. Those who receive the Gospel and seek to bring out the fruit of discipleship are blessed by God in the way Jesus’ sermon describes.
They will be persecuted at times, but they will be satisfied as by God’s grace as they strive to realise the fruits of God’s rule on earth. As they work to bring about the peaceable relations between people in the way that God intends, they will be recognised as God’s children.
As they single-heartedly work to promote God’s righteousness, their vision of God will become ever clearer. As they pass on to others the forgiveness and mercy they themselves have received from God, they will continue to receive the same from God.
When they mourn it will not be in desolation; for all things are turned for good by God’s grace. As they humbly live and work in their place and with the attitude of God’s calling on their lives, they will have all that they need and be satisfied.
The rule of God that Jesus inaugurated is one that preserves what is good in society and adds good flavour to an otherwise unpalatable social taste. However the rule of God should not be hidden – its purpose is to display the glory of God in every social context. This means that all those who love God must do good in the world and in such a way that the people around them acknowledge their goodness comes from God’s work in their lives. Any self-serving show of goodness will be seen as hypocrisy, but that done in humble love and obedience will be seen for what it is – a demonstration of God’s love and righteousness.
Food for thought: The message of the Beatitudes seems to be that, ‘living under God’s kingdom rule is the good and perfect life’; so ‘be happy about any persecution that might come your way as a result’. Jesus called his disciples to emulate his example as the light of the world so that people would come to praise his heavenly Father and their heavenly Father.
Challenge: Jesus calls us to enjoy his heavenly Father as our heavenly Father too. Do you so enjoy your heavenly Father? And do you know your place in God’s kingdom and faithfully stay there?
Matthew ch.5 v.17 to 26 ~ Teaching about the OT Law & Extending it
“17Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the Law of Moses or the prophetic writings. No, I came to accomplish their purpose. ... 19...anyone who obeys God’s laws and teaches them will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven.” “20But...unless your righteousness is better than the righteousness of the teachers of (OT) religious law and the Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven.”
21 “...if you commit murder, you are subject to judgement. But I say, if you are even angry with someone, you are subject to judgement!” 23 So, ... if you remember someone has something against you ... 24 ...go and be reconciled to that person. Then come and offer your sacrifice to God.”
At this juncture it is reasonable to imagine that Jesus was extending his teaching of his disciples to include the crowds gathering to listen on the slopes around him. Jesus is emphasising (in verses 17 to 19) that his mission is to fulfil the OT law and prophets, but warns (in v.18) that anyone teaching people to disobey a law of God (that has not been fulfilled in Christ) will not enjoy God’s favour. Jesus has fulfilled some of the OT laws and has also introduced his own commands – those who teach people to obey Christ will be favoured by God.
Jesus further warns his disciples (v.20) against thinking they are in God’s Kingdom merely by paying lip-service without allowing God’s grace to transform them into those who practice obedience to Christ’s teaching.
In verses 21 to 26, Jesus extends the concept of murder here to include for example, ‘murdering someone’s reputation’ or holding a grudge or feeling hard done by another that leads on to anger or to vengeance. All of our attitudes that fail to bring God’s grace to help us overcome all less than Christ-like responses are dangerous. We are in danger of falling out of relationship with God and of destroying His purpose of bringing others to know God. We need to fully see our own failings in each situation before we judge another’s words or actions. And we need to be constantly doing all we can to repair strained relationships.
Food for thought: The OT Law was intended in love, but some of the provisions were only for the pre-Christian Jews; these provisions are fulfilled in Christ’s coming. Other provisions are world-wide in their scope, such as ‘Love God with all your heart and your neighbour as yourself’ - a saying which Jesus crystallized from the book of Deuteronomy. Jesus was well versed in the OT Scriptures and he lived a perfect, righteous and God-centred life thus fully glorifying God.
Challenge: Do you read to Bible, crystallize out and practice those Christian duties that glorify God?
Matthew ch.5 v.27 to 37 ~ Teaching about Marriage and Promises
“27You have heard the commandment, ‘You must not commit adultery.’ 28But I say, anyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” “30... It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.”
“33 You have also heard, ‘you must not must not break your vows; you must carry out the vows you make to the Lord.’ But I say, do not make any vows! ... 37Just say a simple, Yes, I will,’ or ‘No, I won’t.’”
In verses 33 to 37, Jesus is not discounting the law of God about promises. He is rather countering the Pharisaic nonsense that argued that some vows made to God could be counterweighted or ignored by other such vows. Jesus tells us not to make any vows in God’s name, or by any other apparent sacred thing. It is of the Evil One (v.37) because such promises are often made to convince other people of our sincerity and as such they may well mask some deceitfulness in our hearts.
Jesus implies that when we make promises (however great or small) they are not only promises to others they are also promises to God. Marriage vows are promises not only to our spouse and society but also to God. Hence to leave a marriage, or to be unfaithful in a marriage, just because we find another potential partner more exciting or because we are not prepared to work out our relationship in good and in hard times, is reckless and destroys God’s purposes of giving us his grace to live by and of extending the outworking of his love in all human lives.
That said and meant, however, due to our nature and the unknown future we are all fickle and so all promises made with good intention can’t always be fulfilled. To carry out a promise just because it was made to God and regardless of the changed circumstances, such that if we had known better at the time we would never have made the promise, could also be reckless. In all circumstances we are called on to think and do what God’s love dictates at any given time. Jesus expects us to trust God in all situations and ask for his strength to live by.
Food for Thought. When we undertake solemn vows, we should use the formulae, “With God’s help I will endeavour to ...,” because this emphasises to us and others, that we need God’s grace in order to carry out all good intentions.
Challenge: Do you make promises that you then ignore if it doesn’t suit you, or do you with God’s help try to fulfil your intentions unless to do so is no longer helpful to others or relevant?
Matthew ch.5 v.38 to 48 ~ Teaching about Revenge and Loving Enemies
“38You have heard the law that says the punishment must match the injury… 39But I say to you do not resist an evil person! If someone slaps you on one cheek, offer the other cheek also! … 42Give to those who ask, and don’t turn away from those who want to borrow.
“43You have heard it said, ‘Love your neighbour and hate your enemy. 44But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! 45In that way you will be acting as true children of your father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good. …
Jesus is not decrying the moral principle that punishment should be commensurate with the crime. The OT Law was aimed at restricting punishment from becoming vengeful; but it always needs to be commensurate. Jesus is just radically shifting our focus. Those who would glorify God need to show love even in the face of oppression. Jesus calls his followers not to seek retribution, but rather go out of their way to show love to their enemies.
Clearly the Christian’s personal response needs to be to offer the hand of friendship even to those who despise and abuse them. But the Christian should not deter or prevent those responsible for law and order from apprehending those in society bent on criminal activity including those who abuse Christians or any other vulnerable persons. The provision of law and order is a gift from God and those who exercise justice are God’s agents whether they realise or not. However society should also learn from Jesus here, in that those who have been justly punished should be allowed to reform and change their former way of life. This will mean not carrying any social stigma for past crimes. They need to be forgiven so that they can build constructive lives with positive regard from others.
This does not mean however that they should be totally free to access social areas where they are highly vulnerable to lapse, e.g. former abusers of children should not be allowed unsupervised access to children; but this can be achieved by means of Child Protection legislation such as occurs in the UK.
Nor should Jesus words deter a Christian from restraining an evil doer as far as he or she can while seeking to reason with them. If they will not be reasoned with and are fully aware of the consequences of their actions, the Christian is asked to suffer with God who wants all men and women to turn to him and experience his love. I do not think that the OT law ever tells the Hebrews to ‘hate their enemies’ so the reference in Matthew 5 v.43 should be taken as referring to David’s example in the Psalms where the writer tells God that ‘he hates God’s enemies’ in an apparent show of the author’s love for God. But in NT thinking we should emulate God’s love in such a way that we hate the sin, but love the sinner.
Food for thought. There is a shining illustration of how Jesus words here can be worked out in the nitty-gritty of life in the character of Jean Valjean in Victor Hugo’s novel (subsequently musical and film) Les Miserables. Jean lived under a harsh regime where the law was far from just and where those stigmatised by the law were never able to fairly rebuild their lives. Jean steals from a priest, however the priest wonderfully exemplifies Christ’s teaching here in Matt. Ch.5. Jean Valjean is massively forgiven by the priest and as he allows that forgiveness to permeate his embittered soul, he is transformed, in the way God intends for all Christians to be changed by Christ’s death for sinners.
Challenge: Do you know how much you have been forgiven by God and how much he loves you? Has it changed your life?
Matthew 6 v. 1 to 18 ~ Giving, Praying and Fasting without Hypocrisy
1 Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others. ... 4 Give your gifts in private, and your Father will reward you. 5 Don’t pray on street corners ... 6 when you pray go away by yourself and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father will reward you.
9 Pray, ‘Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. 10May your kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day the food we need, 12 and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us. 13 And don’t let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from evil.’
14 If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. 17 When you fast, comb your hair and wash your face.
Jesus is here teaching us about the audiences we play to. To be a Christian we are called to be conscious of God’s audience above all else. To pray aloud in church for example simply to impress others is not playing to God’s audience and will not glorify God. But to pray aloud because you feel the burden of God’s Spirit encouraging you to pray and you know that others will only be encouraged to join you in prayer, will bring God’s answers out. But then we are also called to strive with God in secret.
To do charity while making sure certain persons notice how generous we are is playing to their audience and will not glorify God. But to give, either openly or secretly, because God’s love gives you genuine compassion for the poor will mean God is glorified – and then people will praise God.
To do kind deeds to others is what we are called to do and will naturally glorify God, but to broadcast all our good deeds so that we gain credit in the eyes of others does not bring glory to God. Those who live to impress their human audiences will not receive the Father’s ‘Well done.’ Instead it will be plain to all that they lived to please themselves even while they may have served others in the process. The reward for the faithful Christian is to know the Father’s ‘Well done my good and faithful servant.’
Food for Thought: Although we are called to relate well to others and demonstrate the Father’s love to all others and to pray for others and all without playing to human audiences, we must beware of working, giving and praying out of a desire to impress God. Playing to God’s audience does not mean we should think that we are earning credit with God. We do not earn ‘Brownie points’ by doing good: doing good by means of God’s grace working through us, is how we are designed to operate! An attitude that thinks we are somehow earning credit is an insult to God. He loves us and has fully paid for our shortcomings. We are called to be faithful and to work out, but not to earn our salvation!
Challenge: Do you think you are somehow earning Brownie points by serving God, or do you just want to be faithful to God because of his unfailing love to you?
Matthew ch.6 v.19 to 34 ~ Teaching about Money and Possessions
“19 Don’t store up treasures here on earth where moths eat and rust destroys and thieves break in and steal. 20 Store your treasures in heaven...21 Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.
“22 Your eye is a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is good, your whole body is filled with light. 23 But when your eye is bad, your whole body is filled with darkness. And if the light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep that darkness is!
“24 No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other...You cannot serve God and money.
Sandwiched between two clear strands of teachings about money and possessions is this brief strand about the eyes and light of the body. How did Jesus mean this to be understood? I believe the whole passage is just one teaching and that Jesus is using the figurative language of eyes and light to illustrate our attitudes and the desires of our hearts.
Do we love God with all our heart? If we do then we will perceive (by the good light of God entering our minds) what is worth treasuring and what we can hold lightly and use to build God’s kingdom. If we don’t worship God with all our hearts then we may perceive self regarding attitudes as acceptable and deceive ourselves with false reasoning and less than worthy motives.
If we think we are in God’s kingdom while holding onto double minded motives, we deceive ourselves and our darkness is worse than those who profess no allegiance to God’s kingdom.
Food for thought: If we love God we should use our wealth such as it is to build good relationships with others and to serve God’s kingdom.
Challenge: Is the treasure of your heart based in your income or possessions or pleasures, rather than in God’s great love for you?
Matthew ch. 7 v. 1 to 29 ~ Further Teaching for Jesus’ Followers
“2 The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged. 3 Why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own 5 Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye. ...
“6 Don’t give the sacred to dogs. Don’t throw your pearls to pigs! They will trample them..
“7 Keep on asking and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking and you will find. Keep on knocking and the door will be opened to you. ...11 If you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him.
“12 Do to others whatever you would like them to do for you. This is the essence of all that is taught in the Law and the Prophets.
Jesus continues to teach plain truths to his disciples and the crowds who were listening. The Golden rule (“Do as you would be done by” v.12a) is a principle also taught by the founders of other world religions. However the words “this is the essence of the Law & the Prophets” (verse 12b) do not properly reflect what Jesus taught. In Matthew 22 v.34-40 for example, Jesus states that the whole of the Law and the Prophets can be summarised in the two great commandments, viz. ‘love the Lord your God with all your heart and love your neighbour as yourself.’ Clearly this is different to stating that the OT can be summarised by the Golden Rule. According to Jesus whole teaching, if we properly love God with all our hearts, we will love our other people as much as we love ourselves, in which case we will also do for them what we would like others to do for us. However it is conceivable that we might think that because we love some other people, we are fulfilling God’s law and that we are doing that without loving God with all our hearts: hence Jesus had challenged his disciples earlier (Matt.5 v.43,44) to love their enemies as well.
It is all too easy to criticise others without being fully aware of our own faults. So Jesus warns his disciples in v.2-5 that as they judge others they will be judged. Clearly a counsellor for example who is fully aware of her/his own shortcomings is better able to help someone less aware of their shortcomings than a would be counsellor unaware of their own shortcomings who thinks they know what another’s problem is. The context suggests that Jesus meant that God will hold us all to account for misjudging others.
But this teaching doesn’t mean that we should not try and make sober assessments about others; we just need to be careful not to make hasty judgements that write off others whom God loves. In v.6 Jesus bids his followers not to throw their pearls before pigs who will trample them. Clearly this involves us being streetwise as to who will be likely to dismiss and rubbish spiritual truths that we have entered into.
Food for thought: Jesus bids his disciples to persist in prayer (v.7-11) knowing that they are greatly loved by God. So though we may be going through great trials we need to hang onto the fact that God wants us to grow in compassion for others and develop into those who more clearly reflect God’s character as we draw on God’s Spirit who is freely given to us as we struggle in prayer and faith.
Challenge: Lord, help me to be patient and generous with all people, but also wise enough to distinguish those whom I can fellowship with from those I can’t.
Matthew ch.8 v.1 to 17 ~ Healing by Touch and Healing Remotely
2 A leper knelt before him and said, “Lord if you are willing you can heal me and make me clean.” 3 Jesus reached out his hand and touched him. “I am willing,” he said, “Be healed!” And instantly the leprosy disappeared.
5 A Roman centurion came and pleaded with him, “6 Lord, my young servant lies in bed paralysed and in pain.” 7 Jesus said, “I will come and heal him.” 8 But the officer said, “Lord I am not worthy to have you come into my home. Just say the word ... and my servant will be healed. 10 When Jesus heard this he was amazed.
14 When Jesus arrived at Peter’s house, Peter’s mother in law was sick in bed with a high fever. 15 But when Jesus touched her hand, the fever left her. ... 16 That evening ...Jesus...cast out the evil spirits with a simple command and he healed all the sick.
The leper (verses 2-4) had a dual problem, leprosy and the social stigma of un-cleanliness. Jesus healed his disease by employing a spiritual (non-material) power accessed by faith. But Jesus then told the man to employ the cultural means by which the former leper’s social stigma could be reversed: the prescribed official inspection and the religious offering that would make him socially ‘clean.’ He was bid not to talk to people before this – they might not believe him which might then put him off track.
In verse 5-13, Jesus highly commended the Roman centurion’s faith that recognised Jesus had spiritual authority over diseases. He only needed to say the word remotely and his servant would be healed. Jesus did so and the young servant was healed that same hour. As another account recorded the centurion on returning home found his servant healed and send words of thanksgiving back to Jesus.
At home in Capernaum (verses 14-16) Jesus heals Peter’s relative and then has compassion on all the sick who are brought to him after dark.
Matthew typically then examples these healing instances to the fulfilment of prophecy (v.17), quoting ‘He took our sicknesses and removed our diseases’ from Is.53 v. 4. However as the NLT Bible points out the words of the text of Isaiah quoted may as accurately translated as, ‘Yet it was our weaknesses he carried, it was our sorrows that weighed him down.’ The context of Isaiah here is really about healing our sinfulness and not about our physical ailments.
Food for thought: These were neither magic nor tricks nor psychosomatic instances of healing. Even though undertaken in a culture more inclined to accept supernatural interventions than the modern scientific cultures, they were nevertheless witnessed by a people who were not simpletons and were capable of critical assessment. Nor was Jesus character by all accounts such as would undertake any form of magic or trickery. He was not inclined to sensationalism and often sought to distance himself from the crowds who sought him out. Theists can accept that the possibility of the miraculous as an ever present reality simply because it is potentially common though in practice very rare.
This is not to claim God intervenes to change the course of nature and disease, but it is to state that there are spiritual forces which we all potentially have access to that are not amenable to scientific investigation because they are not material forces. Materialists (those who refuse to believe in any existence beyond the material universe) will logically not accept that any ‘miracle’ could ever happen. As CS Lewis argues (Miracles, 1947, Harper Collins), we can know that the miraculous is potentially common by reason of the very nature of rational thought. Our ability to reason by inference logically employs a medium that is not material in essence. Hence it is reasonable to conclude that the philosophy of Materialism is deficient and that miracles are potentially common.
As J. Collins has pointed out (2), Mathew’s selection here of instances of healing shows that God (in Christ),
- Desires and will help everyone who cries out for help regardless of their religious standing (e.g. unclean lepers), but will not necessarily heal them of their physical diseases.
- Looks to enhance faith in him regardless of nationality (e.g. Jesus commends the Roman centurion), but this does not necessarily require God to heal them physically although he may do as on this occasion.
- Looks to fulfil people towards their full potential in God’s kingdom service (e.g. Peter’s mother-in-law). But this may mean God helps them to serve him better through giving them grace to bear their ailments (e.g. St. Paul’s eye complaint that bugged him).
Challenge: Rejoice that God has provided us with a predictable universe that operates through material forces, but that by our human reason and by our faith in God, we continually access the powers of non-material realms.
(1) Torrence in ‘Worship, Community and the Triune god of Grace (IVP 1996) as quoted by C Baxter Kryger, The shack revisited, p210, Hodder, 2002
(2) Rev J Collins (Redhill Baptist Church website, 5/1/14 sermon)